Islam, followed
by more than a billion people today, is the world's fastest growing religion
and will soon be the world's largest. The 1.2 billion Muslims make up
approximately one quarter of the world's population, and the Muslim population
of the United States now outnumbers that of Episcopalians. The most populous
Muslim countries are Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. The number
of Muslims in Indonesia alone (175 million) exceeds the combined total
in Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, the traditional heartlands
of Islam. There are also substantial Muslim populations in Europe and
North America, whether converts or immigrants who began arriving in large
numbers in the 1950s and 1960s. In keeping with tradition, the two main
branches of Islam today are Sunni
and Shiite.

Beginning in the
1970s and 1980s Islam remerged as a potent political force, associated
with both reform and revolution. Given the large number of adherents,
it is no surprise that Muslims incorporate a broad and diverse spectrum
of positions in regard to liberalism and democracy. Some are secularists
who want to disengage religion from politics. Others are reformers, who
reinterpret Islamic traditions in support of elective forms of government.
Still there are others who reject democracy entirely.